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Up Close & Personal with Upasana Taku: Decoding women entrepreneurship in India

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Upasana Taku, Co-founder Mobikwik
After completing her engineering in 2001 from the National Institute of Technology in Jalandhar in June 2001, Upasana Taku, Co-founder, Mobikwik joined the Stanford University’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory as a research assistant. She had been working for several international companies till 2010 including HSBC, Paypal, 2020 Social, Drishtee etc. Later, she had joined Mobikwik in 2010 and then founded ZaakPay with her then business partner and now husband Bipin Preet Singh.
How would you define true Woman Entrepreneurship?
True woman entrepreneurship is breaking-free from all constraints, marching ahead with conviction.

How is entrepreneurship and working women important for India as a whole?
Working women not only add a lot of economic value to business, but also bring unique skills and capabilities to the workforce. Financially independent women help in developing a balanced societal structure.
The scale of impact that has been unleashed today by women in India is unparalleled. We are also seeing more and more women take up entrepreneurship as a career and becoming a source of inspiration for many others.

What do you think are the keys to professional and business success for women in India?
The 3 Cs, calibre, conviction, and confidence are critical ingredients of success for anyone. Lacking any one attribute could stifle growth. One must keep working hard to improve on the 3Cs.
What is the greatest obstacle you have faced in achieving the success you desire? How do you overcome it?
I wouldn’t call it the greatest obstacle, but I entered a challenging phase of time when I started harbouring thoughts of quitting my job to pursue my entrepreneurial ambitions. My family was shocked when I discussed with them my plans to come back to India.
They could not imagine how I could leave a high-profile and fast-growing career in the US to pursue an entrepreneurial venture in India. It was a critical phase of my life and I remember not speaking to my family for 3-months, and finally emerging in India, surprising my folks.

How do you keep motivated through difficult times?
If you are passionate by nature, you do not have to motivate yourself to fight through difficult times. It comes naturally to you.

What has made you successful as Woman Entrepreneur?
It’s difficult to name just one thing. However, I would say it’s my drive and ability to make things happen, of pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

This article was earlier published on Indian Media Book http://www.indianmediabook.com/womens-day-special-decoding-women-entrepreneurship-in-india-with-upasana-taku/
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